There is a movement afoot in the United States to ban the use of plastic drinking straws by consumers of liquid products. This is understandable considering the large volume of straws that end up in landfills, along our road sides and highways and even in our waters. In fact, it is estimated that more than 500 million straws are used by Americans every day; that adds up to about 2,000 tons of plastic waste a year in our oceans alone. Now that’s a lot of waste! Something should be done to curb America’s appetite for slurping their favorite beverage through a straw. But what about the negative effect a plastic straw ban would have on people who can’t live without one?
It could be deadly. For instance, people with disabilities need the plastic straw. And they are making their voices heard in cities and towns across America who are considering plastic straw bans. For many people with disabilities like my son Marsh with Down Syndrome, a plastic straw is the difference between him staying hydrated or dying. It’s that simple. You see, for many people like Marsh they can’t drink directly from a cup. Due to the risk of aspiration, he must have his beverages thickened and taken in through a plastic straw. You might ask, what about a metal straw? Well, metal doesn’t regulate heat and he could burn his throat. What about paper straws? Paper straws don’t hold up under liquids and tend to fall apart into pieces that could choke and kill him. What about reusable plastic straws? That’s an option, but not everyone can carry around a reusable straw for their everyday liquid intake. The bottom line is we shouldn’t ban straws. Life is hard enough for people with disabilities only for us to take away such a simple solution for their hydration needs.
But we do need a long-term solution that will reasonably reduce the amount of plastic straw waste in our environment and the effect it has on global warming. I believe we have some reasonable solutions that would allow society to reduce the plastic straw foot print, but still allow people with disabilities to have access to this life saving tool for hydration. One solution would be for everyone without disabilities to ban their personal use of plastic straws. This would instantly reduce the production and waste associated with plastic straws. Or we could add a penny straw tax for every straw purchased and have the money collected go back to programs and services for people with disabilities. A plastic straw tax could deter many consumers from using one and could collect $1,825,000,000/annually for the disabled. Either way, we all need to remain flexible and not be so rigid when it comes to banning plastic straws.
I love this!! It’s so important to keep an open mind when considering broad-reaching policy changes, especially when they could negatively affect large portions of our population. I also appreciate that you provided examples of possible alternative solutions; clearly plastic straws are a problem for the environment, but we must find a solution that doesn’t alienate those in our community who rely on them for necessary daily use.
I love this!! It is so important to keep an open mind when creating new policy, especially when it could negatively affect a large portion of our population. I also appreciate that you provided specific alternative solutions to the problem. Though straws are obviously a threat to the environment, an issue that needs to be handled, we cannot sacrifice the day-to-day wellbeing of members of our community.
Great post, Chris, and very true. I had invasive surgery on my bottom lip to remove cancer cells and I was dependent on a plastic straw for weeks to drink & eat and it’s true, if I would’ve tried to use a paper straw to drink soup with it would’ve disintegrated and a metal straw had the potential of burning me which could harm the healing process. I don’t have a child with a disability, but I can relate to the vitality that straws can serve in a critical needs situation. Thanks for sharing.